Stephanie Baker co-authors book chapter on antiracism organizing and cancer care

Stephanie Baker, assistant professor of public health studies, co-authored a chapter in a recently released book published by the American Public Health Associaton about racism and public health. 

Assistant Professor of Public Health Studies Stephanie Baker co-authored a chapter in the book titled "Racism: Science & Tools for the Public Health Professional" published by the American Public Health Association (APHA) press in August 2019. The new text was co-edited by Chandra L. Ford, Derek M. Griffith, Marino A. Bruce, and Keon L. Gilbert.   

Stephanie Baker, assistant professor of public health studies
As described in a recent press release, https://www.apha.org/news-and-media/news-releases/apha-news-releases/2019/racism-book, “The book explores racism's influence on U.S. institutions and policy, and highlights its manifestations in personal interactions. Commissioned by APHA Press and co-edited by a quartet of leaders in the field, the publication delves into structural and interpersonal forms of racism, offering health workers insights into the communities in which they work.”

Baker co-authored the chapter titled, "Antiracism organizing for culture and institutional change in cancer care," alongside fellow members of the Greensboro Health Disparities Collaborative (GHDC). GHDC is a partnership made up of community members, academic researchers, and medical professionals that was established in 2003 based on the principles of anti-racism and Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). CBPR is a research approach that involves community members at every point in the research process, beginning with deciding what to research, helping to determine the research question, deciding on the research methodology, conducting the research, analyzing the data, and disseminating the results. 

This chapter highlighted one of four interventions developed for the Accountability for Cancer Care through Undoing Racism and Equity (ACCURE) systems-change study called Healthcare Equity Education and Training (HEET) sessions. These sessions raised awareness of the historical and structural characteristics of racism within healthcare settings that affect patient outcomes and offered strategies to address these by focusing on changing institutional practice and policies.